Enhanced Ductility of a Fine‐Grained Mg–Gd–Al–Zn Magnesium Alloy by Hot Extrusion

Abstract

The grain refinement by dynamic recrystallization (DRX), the enhancement of room‐temperature strength and ductility by decreasing hot extrusion temperature, and the effect of grain growth at elevated temperatures are discussed for a newly developed as‐cast Mg–Gd–Al–Zn magnesium alloy. The results are supported by fracture surface observations, texture analysis by Schulz reflection method based on X‐ray diffraction (XRD), and work‐hardening rate plots. It is found that by decreasing the extrusion temperature, the ductility of alloys enhances, which is related to the weakening of basal texture by the rare earth element Gd. Moreover, the grain growth annealing resulted in decreasing the strength and increasing the ductility in the conventional manner, where the texture intensity remained unchanged.